Under the Axle Load Control Reforms, Kwame Governs Agbodza, Minister of Roads and Highways, has declared that the government will significantly raise the fine for vehicle overloading from GHS 5,000 to GHS 50,000.
The action is a component of larger initiatives to prevent heavy vehicle damage to Ghana’s roads.
The increase is meant to discourage overloading, which continues to harm major highways, like as the Agona Junction to Tarkwa road, which has already degraded less than a year after construction, Mr. Agbodza stated during the Government Accountability Series in Accra.
“This is a punishment for misconduct, not a fee,” the minister underlined.
He continued by saying that the objective is to end the overloading practice rather than to make money. When accruals reach zero, it indicates that overloading has halted. That’s what we want.
Mr. Agbodza pointed out that the damage caused by overloaded trucks cannot be completely repaired with the money received from axle load penalties. To arrest lawbreakers who attempt to evade the law, the government will tighten rules and increase fines.
At the Tema Port, he disclosed, some drivers load the permitted amount of cargo, but when they leave the port, they unlawfully add more.
He went on to emphasize that the harsher penalties are intended to act as a powerful deterrent, saying, “If you lose half your goods because of overloading, next time you will follow the rules.”
He explained that the existing system solely punishes drivers and not the owners of the items, saying that the overloading regime is complicated.
Mr. Agbodza stated that new rules will penalize owners of overloaded items in order to close this loophole. The extra items may occasionally be seized and put up for auction, with the money raised going to the Road Maintenance Trust Fund.
Source: newsthemegh.com